Ochiai
Ochiai (落合) is a scientist and member of the Immortal Ship Committee who lived centuries before the main storyline and was the foremost researcher on the Gauna's behavior and biology. As a scientist pushing the envelope of what was possible, he tried to create a Gauna/human hybrid almost 100 years prior to Sidonia's story, which nearly destroyed Sidonia. Personality & Character Ochiai was once great friends and comrades to Hiyama, Saitou, and Kobayashi, all part of the Immortal Ship Committee. He was once hailed as a great scientist of his age and greatly contributed to the technological, as well as biological developments for Sidonia. However, he changed and was later hailed as the great mad scientist instead. Ochiai always believed in biological and technological advancements, but his scope was beyond humanity. He lost sight of his own humanity and modified his body with biological and cybernetic enhancements to the point he no longer resembled his former human self. In his own quest for bio-technological advancement, he threatened the lives of the people of Sidonia for his own selfish cause, and nearly single-handedly destroyed Sidonia. However, he was eventually arrested; his body was destroyed, but his genius couldn't be denied and so his knowledge and consciousness were sealed away in an isolated system to be retrieved when and if they were needed. However, Ochiai anticipated this and created contingency plans of his own; should anyone venture into his sealed labratory, his creations would help him return by taking over the body of another person through his Blood Nematodes. He has since returned after taking over the body of Norio Kunato, heir of Kunato Developments. Utilizing Norio's influence over the company, he convinced the higher-ups of Sidonia that Norio has since rediscovered and improved the developed bio and technical knowledge of Ochiai that no one else could figure out. Because Sidonia was desperate for advanced developments to defend Sidonia, nobody suspected Norio's sudden increase in intelligence and unusual deep insight into Ochiai's work. Through Sidonia's complacency, Ochiai was able to resume his Gauna chimera-hybrid experiments and create Tsumugi Shiraui. After making Norio and Kunato Developments the premiere company for future advancements, he had greater freedom to develop Kanata. After believing he ironed out all the problems he had with his previous experiments, he thought it was time to stop the ruse and even gave up Norio's body and took over Kanata's to openly rebel against Sidonia once again. With his will over Kanata, Ochiai is now one of the most powerful and almost unstoppable beings between Sidonia's unending conflict with the Gauna. History Early Days Ochiai began life as a normal member of the Sidonia's crew. As time went on, he became an advocate for body modification - swapping out his biological components for technological and mechanical improvements. As of 400 years after Sidonia launched, his body modifications progressed to the point where he could survive in vacuum without a suit. Near Destruction of Sidonia & Death 100 years before the beginning of the story, Ochiai voluntarily abandoned all 28 Kabizashi in space, leaving Sidonia defenseless to the Gauna. In the four minutes it took for the Kabizashi to be located and returned, 99% of the ship's population had been consumed. Ochiai, in preparation for his punishment, had taken over half of Sidonia's library hostage in his augmented brain. To get around this, Ochiai's brain was removed from his body by Yure Shinatose - Izana's grandmother. However, Ochiai's brain had to be used to access this data, so his brain lived on in a clone of the original Ochiai. Return & Taking Over Kunato Developments Ochiai set up several blood nematodes in preparation for his punishment. Each blood nematode contained his core personality and memories, allowing him to take over another person's brain and willpower by force. After Kunato broke into Ochiai's lab, he became the unwitting host to Ochiai himself. Using Kunato as a pawn, Ochiai, restarted his chimera research and began looking into creating new chimera for his own ends. While he had some success, especially with Tsumugi, it wasn't until the chimera Kanata went out of control that he was able to realize his dream: the transfer of his consciousness into a Gauna. After the second time Kanata ran out of control, Ochiai was able to assert dominance over the chimera, and became the new driving force behind the chimera and its immense power. Pics Gallery Hiyama_Saitou_Kobayashi_Ochiai.jpg|From left to right: Hiyama, Saitou, Kobayashi, and Ochiai. GroupPic.PNG|Hiyama, Saitou, Kobayashi and Ochiai Ochiai.jpg|Ochiai's face about hundred years before the main story. Articles & References Notes & Trivia Links Category:Characters Category:Immortals Category:Deceased